Entirely Unofficial Rest is History Catalogue and Interrogator

Early Modern & Renaissance

143 Episodes 29 Series 153 Figures 83 Events 350 Books 271 Authors

Covering roughly the 15th through 18th centuries, this collection examines religious, political, imperial, and cultural transformations of the Renaissance and early modern world. Series include American Crusades (Christianity’s influence on American foreign policy and warfare from the colonial era onward), Amsterdam (the city’s rise from a fishing village to a financial hub), Aztec Epic (Hernán Cortés’s expedition and the fall of the Aztecs), Charles I: Trial and Execution (causes and consequences of regicide), and Christopher Columbus (origins and Atlantic voyages). Episodes address public debate and coffee-house culture, Magna Carta, Elizabeth I’s early reign, Ireland and Cromwell, and oddities such as Hwang Jini. Figures and events discussed include Ignatius of Loyola, Anne Boleyn, Mehmed II, William III, Sack of Antwerp, Sack of Texcoco, encomienda, Great Trier witch trials, and works like The Embarrassment of Riches and Stations of the Sun.

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Episodes Series Figures Events Books Authors

Episodes by year

Showing 12 of 143

2026

12 episodes

Ken Burns on Why America Really Declared Independence

In this episode of The Rest Is History, host Dominic Sandbrook welcomes documentary filmmaker Ken Burns to discuss the …

Franklin: Revenge of the American Genius (Part 2)

Founding Fathers · Part 2

In this episode of The Rest Is History, Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook turn their focus to Benjamin Franklin, the on…

Britain: God Save the King (Part 2)

World Cup · Part 2

In the second episode of their World Cup‑themed series, Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook explore the origins of Britai…

England: God Save the King (Part 2)

2026 World Cup · Part 2

In the second episode of their World Cup‑themed series, Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook explore the history of Britai…

The Netherlands: The Revolt that Made The Modern World (Part 4)

2026 World Cup · Part 4

In this episode of The Rest Is History, Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook explore the origins and significance of the D…

Empress Matilda: Civil War and the Fight for the Throne

She-wolves Mini Series · Part 1

In this Rest Is History Club mini‑series episode, Tom Holland welcomes historian Helen Castor to discuss the "She‑Wolve…

New World Wine: The Drink of Emperors

In this bonus episode of The Rest Is History, host Tom Holland welcomes wine historian Henry Jeffries, author of Empire…

The Mystery of the Mona Lisa

In this episode of The Rest Is History Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook explore the enduring fascination with Leonardo…

Wine and the Birth of Civilisation

In this episode Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook trace the eight‑thousand‑year saga of wine, from its prehistoric root…

RIHC- The Legacy of the Samurai: From Pearl Harbour to Star Wars

In this Rest is History bonus episode, host Tom Holland welcomes scholar Oleg Benesh to discuss the cultural afterlife …

Dawn of the Samurai: The Shadow of the Sword (Part 1)

Dawn of the Samurai · Part 1

In this episode Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook launch a new series on the origins and evolution of the samurai. They…

RIHC: The Odyssey, Ancient Greek Wars, and Ottoman Invasions

In this Restless History bonus episode, Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook welcome returning guest Alex Preston to explo…

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Series in this era

29 series

Aztec epic

8 episodes Aired: 2023-11-06

Great World Cup Saga

8 episodes Aired: 2022-11-28 – 2022-12-17

Mary, Queen of Scots

7 episodes Aired: 2025-07-20 – 2025-07-30

Life and times of Martin Luther

6 episodes Aired: 2024-03-06 – 2024-03-25

The Fall of the Incas

6 episodes Aired: 2026-02-16

Medici

5 episodes Aired: 2025-06-08 – 2025-06-17

Christopher Columbus

4 episodes Aired: 2023-02-20

Elizabeth I (November 2025)

4 episodes Aired: 2025-11-10

12 (or 13) Days of Christmas

3 episodes Aired: 2021-12-25

2026 World Cup

2 episodes Aired: 2026-06-07

Historical figures

153 tagged

Elizabeth I of England

31 episodes

Henry VIII of England

26 episodes

Charles I of England

22 episodes

Charles II of England (Charles Stuart)

19 episodes

Oliver Cromwell

19 episodes

Hernán Cortés

18 episodes

Mary, Queen of Scots

17 episodes

James VI and I of Scotland and England

16 episodes

Mary I of England

16 episodes

Edward VI of England

14 episodes

Historical events

83 tagged

English Civil War (1642–1651)

22 episodes

Execution of Charles I (1649, England)

16 episodes

Restoration of the Stuart monarchy (1660)

14 episodes

Protestant Reformation (16th century)

13 episodes

English Reformation (16th century England)

11 episodes

Glorious Revolution

11 episodes

Christopher Columbus's first voyage / European landfall (1492)

9 episodes

Defeat of the Spanish Armada (1588)

9 episodes

Conquest of Granada (1492)

8 episodes

Counter-Reformation / Thirty Years' War (1618–1648)

8 episodes

Books

350 tagged

Dominion

Author: Tom Holland

10 episodes

Diary of a Nobody / Diary of Samuel Pepys consolidation (Pepys kept as separate canonical)

Author: Samuel Pepys

4 episodes

Adventure in Time, the Fall of the Aztecs

Author: Dominic Sandbrook

3 episodes

God's Englishman

Author: Christopher Hill

3 episodes

Heart of Darkness

Author: Joseph Conrad

3 episodes

Paradise Lost

Author: John Milton

3 episodes

Rivers of Gold

Author: Hugh Thomas

3 episodes

The Canterbury Tales

Author: Geoffrey Chaucer

3 episodes

95 Theses (Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences)

Author: Martin Luther

2 episodes

Acts of the Apostle s

Author: Traditional Attribution or Various

2 episodes

Authors

271 tagged

Tom Holland

14 episodes

Dominic Sandbrook

9 episodes

Hugh Thomas

6 episodes

Traditional Attribution or Various

6 episodes

Geoffrey Chaucer

4 episodes

John Hemming

4 episodes

Samuel Pepys

4 episodes

William Shakespeare

4 episodes

Christopher Hill

3 episodes

John Guy

3 episodes